Post-Final (is that a thing?) Prediction for Zelda U

We´ve gotten this epic new piece of artwork last night and my hype for the new Zelda-title is through the roof at this point. You know, being able to freely climb any surface has always been my number one-wish for the Zelda-series. We don´t know the details, yet, but the way Link is depicted climbing that plain mountain wall instills a large amount of hope in me. Even when Skyward Sword marks the biggest disappointment in my career as a gamer and a lot has to be made up.

Speaking of which: Before we find out more hard facts about Zelda U, I want to detail a bit on my hypothesis for the game´s story. Here goes:

I already mentioned in the previous blog posting that I see the story set between Ocarina of Time and The Wind Waker. There´s a major reason for that: The supposed sex choice at the start of the game, where the player can choose between a male or female character. See how I´m not using the name “Link”? That´s because I assume it won´t be Link who we´re going to play as. When Ocarina of Time ends, there is no hero in the adult timeline. Adult princess Zelda is left on her own, holding the ocarina in her hands. The end. We know from TWW that, as always, Ganon finds a way to creep back from hell, except this time there was no chosen hero to defeat him and save Hyrule. Instead, the god´s were prayed for to flood the entire land, keeping Ganon in check that way. Ever since then fans assumed that this was a failed scenario. But what if it´s not?

Since the hero shard is male, putting Zelda U at a point in time where there never was a chosen hero, rationalizes the possibility of a self-chosen sex for the protagonist within the established lore. But that´s not all. I imagine that we´d meet an elderly princess Zelda in this game, the same Zelda from Ocarina of Time. The nostalgic overload would be too much for me to handle, honestly. This Zelda knows about Ganon´s return, but she´s desperately in search for a hero – a hero that does not exist in that timeline. What happens is that some random boy/girl appears who offers help, and that´s how things get running. Since we know that Ganon cannot be defeated by anyone but the chosen hero, using the Master Sword, the protagonist of this title wouldn´t be following the usual thematic plot. Instead, Zelda U´s protagonist´s task is to prepare the eventual downfall of Ganon´s.

I´d imagine that princess Zelda somehow turns the ocarina of time into a new tool for this game´s protagonist, which grants him/her the ability to create mobile time bubbles akin to the time bubbles in Lanaryu desert in Skyward Sword. Except this time you can freely experiment with them and even travel to various time planes, not just one point in the past. Your task is to figure out a way to help “real heroes” of other eras, which is done by preparing a multitude of places. The flooding of Hyrule cannot be prevented, but a self-made hero/heroine can at least give it his/her all to make sure that eventually, good will prevail.